


With Great Power...Comes Great Struggles

by SpiderJug



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Bullying, Drama, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Journalism, Love, Love Story, Other, Riverdale High School, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Secrets, spider-man au, superhero, superhero love story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-04-29 12:24:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14472687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiderJug/pseuds/SpiderJug
Summary: Spider-Man AUThe city of New York is protected and kept under the protection of the spectacular Spider-Man! But little does anyone know that the seemingly cheery and approachable hero is actually a gloomy and depressing 17 year old teen when out of costume.Bullied and outcasted, Jughead Jones dwells over his role as Spider-Man rather than deal with the bullies that constantly block his path. He doesn’t care much about his personal life, until he stumbles upon journalist Elizabeth “Betty” Cooper, who works for the one newspaper that despises Spider-Man.Can Jughead keep a cool head fighting crime and (attempt to) win the heart of the blonde beauty?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [createandconstruct](https://archiveofourown.org/users/createandconstruct/gifts).



> Warning: Some swears here and there, bullying
> 
> This is one of my first fics (featuring my favorite superhero of all time may I add) so I hope you enjoy!

“Juggy, look! Spider-Man saved the day again!” Jellybean squealed as she pointed at the TV, her hero on screen.

“Did he now?” Jughead hid a smile as he pulled a hamburger out of the greasy paper bag.

“Yeah! Now gimme my hamburger! I'm starving!”

Jughead handed the burger to his ten year old sister, his eyes taking a glance at the door. He never knew when their usually drunk father would stumble in. And let's just say, it was never a pretty sight. “Here you go, JB.”

Jellybean never took her eyes off the screen as she fumbled for her dinner. “Where is it?” She mumbled before finally grabbing it and taking a huge chomp.

Jughead smiled and took a seat on a stool, too lazy to try to move Jellybean’s legs off the couch. He ate the two hamburgers that he bought for himself as he watched the tv.

Spider-Man, dubbed Spidey, was shown on the screen, swinging off one of the tallest building in New York and bashing some type of flying monster in the head. Jughead grinned at the move. _Ha that was one of my best takedowns. Still, nothing compares to my best takedown of all time._ Jughead mused as he recalled the memory.

A villain known as the Green Goblin had been causing terror in the city, just like any other foe. But, what was he bombing the city with? That was the thing. Jughead (or Spider-Man, in this instance) had no clue. The bombs appeared to be tiny hand held jack-o-lanterns with a green sort of substance in it, causing the little pumpkins to emit green light. Everytime they hit something (he was careful not to hit anyone directly, Spider-Man noticed) they would explode into what seemed like a toxic green gas that made the citizens cough and pass out or in some cases, throw up. It didn't seem that bad of a reaction but the Green Goblin had tons and tons of these little bombs. He’d chuck them anywhere and everywhere, a sickening cackle accompanying his throwing. The Green Goblin could fly in a way, due to its masterful hoverboard.

But the instant Spider-Man saw the fiend, his first instinct was to climb a tall building and try to somehow get on the hover board and take the villain down. He ruled that out after he figured that he’d probably get thrown off and hit the ground too hard. Instead, Spider-Man had climbed a semi tall building and shot a web towards the Green Goblin, latching onto the hoverboard. Spidey then yanked down so that the Goblin would topple towards the ground. To his luck, the hoverboard broke with a snap and the Green Goblin began his plummet back down to earth. Unfortunately, he managed to throw one last bomb. It was towards an at the time eight year old girl with oil colored hair and dark blue eyes. Her face froze in horror at the incoming bomb but she didn't move. She was, quite literally, paralyzed with fear. The wall crawler saw the incoming bomb and blasted a web wall strong enough to stop the bomb from hitting the girl before blasting another similar web towards the Green Goblin, pinning the creature to a nearby building. Spidey panted as he looked at his quick handy work. The bomb exploded with a little puff on the other side of the wall, the gas floating upwards and nowhere towards the little girl. Spider-Man then approached the little girl and looked at her to make sure she wasn't hurt.

“You okay kid?” He asked. It wasn't until then that Spidey noticed who the girl was.

“Spider-Man saved my life,” Jellybean mumbled, ignoring her hero’s question. “Spider-Man saved my life!” She exclaimed, looking up at him. “Thank you so much!”

“It's part of the job, kid.” He smiled under his mask. “I couldn't let ya get hit. That would be very rude of me and I'd grieve over it for the rest of my life.”

Jellybean’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes of course,” Spider-Man replied. “It's my duty to protect every citizen whenever I can.”

Jellybean smiled widely. “You're my hero!” She squealed.

Jughead loved his little sister to the moon and back. Hearing her call him his hero made him ecstatic. And he was one of the few good aspects of his normal life.

Being Spider-Man was cool and all but that was because Jughead enjoyed saving the public. Being his poor and depressing self, well, was a different story.

Jughead (obviously) wasn't a common nickname. But neither was his real name. So either way, the beanie wearing boy would get bullied. And he was. To the point where Jughead just didn't give a shit anymore. Shove him into a locker? Fine. Kick his ass? Sure why not. Get him in trouble? Alrighty. Of course, his wimp status didn't help in any way with his crush on the blonde girl next door, Elizabeth “Betty” Copper. The most he’d get from her was a weak and pitying glance as she passed by.

However, there's a catch to this. See, she was a journalist for The Daily Bugle, a newspaper that hated Spider-Man’s guts. Jughead would have the chance to talk to her then, but only for the paper. And though the paper she worked for despised Spider-Man, Betty personally liked the wall crawler.

“I know you seem like a nice guy and all, but you do know I have to make it seem like you're trash right?” Betty had explained as she wrote in her notebook.

“I understand,” Spider-Man said. “I'll let people think what they want to think.”

Betty smiled. “I like your style,” she had admired. “Can I have a picture? You know, for the paper?”

“Of course,” Spider-Man had replied.

That was only one of many conversations between the two. Jughead just desperately wished he could have the same confidence he has as Spider-Man when talking to the blonde beauty.

-

The siren sound emitted from Jughead’s alarm clock snapped him awake. It was 4 in the morning, giving the teen two hours to get ready for hell, or in other words, school.

Frankly, he didn't need the full two hours. A whole hour was spent on swinging through the city, just for the sheer fun of it. Okay, well, technically Jughead didn't need that hour. He just wanted it. He'd receive the occasional “Hey, Spidey!” or “Sup wall crawler!” here and there. And considering how social the raven haired teen was, these greetings meant a lot to him.

Jughead always took a good five minutes admiring his homemade spandex suit. It had a couple tiny rips here and there but, personally, Jughead preferred them to be there. It gave the suit character, as he would word it. They reminded him of the hero he was to New York City.

After admiring, Jughead slipped in the suit and stuffed his bag with the things he needed for school, including a change of clothes. He then swiftly pulled his crown beanie off his head and into his bag, choosing to pull Spider-Man’s mask over his whole head, concealing his identity.

It was time for Spider-Man to say good morning to New York City.

Spider-Man hopped out the window and flung a web high into the side of a glass tower building. He continued a pattern of swinging to every building directly diagonal of the previous building, all the while saying hi to the people below.

He greeted men and women all alike. He was careful to talk louder around senior citizens and children though. But it didn’t matter how old any of his fans were. He adored them all, nonetheless.

Spider-Man always ended his hour of “flying” through the city by landing on the Daily Bugle’s building’s jumbotron, where leading CEO Hal Cooper ranted about how terrible Spider-Man was.

“The spider menace is out and about!” Spider-Man recalled the thick headed criticizer say once. “Lock your doors, close your windows, hide your kids! He's about to ‘save the day’ again!”

Today, Hal recited a similar rant. “For the love of God people! While he does save people, he puts others at risk by breaking the laws and causing havoc in the city! What more do you need to convince you that he's a bad guy?!”

Spider-Man simply shook his head and shot a thick web onto a section of the screen. “What a bunch of crap.” He then climbed down the Daily Bugle’s building and shoved himself in a secluded corner and quickly changed.

 _Time to go to the underworld._ Jughead mentally reminded himself as he fixed the beanie on his head.

-

Jughead Jones stumbled into the school, head down, shoulders stiff. His headphones fit the mold of his head just right. Or at least he thought they did. Just as the chorus of Bring Me The Horizon’s song Drown blasted through his ears, Jughead was “greeted” by the classic school bully.

“Morning Fuckhead!” Reggie boomed as he slammed Jughead against the lockers, causing his headphones to pop off his head and clatter onto the ground. “Had a good night doing my homework?”

 _Shit._ Jughead cursed mentally as the events of last night flashed in his head. He had completely forgotten to do Reggie’s homework. _Time for another black eye._

“Hey asshat! Did you hear me?” Reggie kneed him in the stomach. “Answer me!”

Jughead hunched over and held his churning stomach. “I didn't do it,” he murmured.

“Speak up, Jonesy boy!”

“I didn't do it,” Jughead repeated, this time a little louder.

“Ohhhhhh,” Reggie growled as he cracked his knuckles, the loud popping sounds making Jughead cringe. “You didn't do it, eh? Well how about I give you a little this!” The loud mouth jock socked Jughead in the face, his left eye beginning to swell. Reggie and his goons then shoved the helpless boy to the ground, beating him senseless. They cackled as the attacked the poor teen.

Perhaps the saddest part of all of this is the fact that people passing the halls did indeed see what was happening. But no one ever had the guts to help Jughead out or stand up to Reggie and his meatheads, for they feared they would end up like Jughead, all bruised and battered.

In Jughead’s case, however, the saddest part for him was seeing Betty walk by. There was never a time when she didn't walk by. She’d give the same sympathetic look to Jughead, all the while doing nothing to help like most others. It tore Jughead apart in the inside. What type of guy wanted to look weak in front of their crush?

But, hey. At least Betty knew Jughead existed. And that was good enough for him.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self edited so there will probably be errors but I hope you enjoy!

“I'll write you a pass, Jughead,” Linda the school nurse announced as she scribbled a pass to Jughead’s next class on a post-it.

 

“Thanks, Linda,” Jughead mumbled against the lump of an ice pack on his face. He had left the scene with a black left eye, cut lips, a scrape on his neck, a blackish blueish shoe tip shaped bruise in the center of his stomach, and multiple minor bruises all over his arms and legs. In other words, another normal day at highschool for Jughead.

 

The beanie wearing boy laid his head back gently against the wall. “God, Reggie’s a jerk.”

 

“You're telling me.” Linda motioned towards Jughead’s various injuries. 

 

Jughead groaned. “Can I have a cookie?”

 

Linda just stretched her arm out as if to say “go ahead.” 

 

The raven haired boy slowly rose from the stiff cot and shuffled towards the fridge in the center of the room against the wall. He then placed a hand over the fridge and carefully felt for the cookie jar. Once he felt the polished clay against his finger tips, Jughead used his spider powers and naturally stuck his hand onto the side of the jar, pulling it cautiously until it rested in the safety of both his hands.

 

“You got it?” Linda questioned.

 

“Yup.”

 

“My God you’re tall. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since you always do reach the jar.” She gave the injured boy a small grin.

 

Jughead returned the grin then stuck a cookie in his mouth. “I'm only five feet eight, Linda,” he stated between chews.

 

“I consider that tall, Jughead. After all, I am only five foot one.” 

 

“True,” the beanie wearing boy agreed as he pressed the ice pack to his eye and nibbled on his cookie.

 

Just then, a girl entered the small office. She held her wrist, letting her hand dangle. “Um hi Mrs. Summers can I go run my finger over some cold water?”  The voice sounded familiar. 

 

“Sure,” Linda waved her off, proceeding to read the magazine in her hands.

 

Jughead watched as she turned towards the sink. But he kept his face down and made himself extra careful not to directly stare. He didn't want to look like a creep.

 

“Hello Jughead,” Betty mumbled while turning the sink faucet cold and running her burned finger under the water.

 

Jughead couldn't see her facial expression but based on her tone, she still felt sorry for him. “Hey.”

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

“Sure? What is it?”

 

“Why do you deal with Reggie and his idiot possy?”

 

Jughead lifted his eyes from the floor, a stunned look on his face. When she interviewed him as Spider-Man, she never went straight to the point like that. She always beat around the bush with side questions or smaller scale questions that eventually led her to the answer she wanted. “Um…because I don't give a shit,” Jughead shrugged. 

 

Betty raised one eyebrow slightly. “Really? I find that hard to believe.”

 

“Well. We don't have the same mind set,” Jughead insisted. He would've never thought his first conversation with his crush would have him talk so brash.

 

“I suppose you’re right,” Betty agreed, her finger tapping her chin lightly.

 

“Ms. Cooper, are you done with the sink?” Linda interrupted. 

 

“Hm? Oh yeah uh sorry.” Betty turned the sink off and wiped her finger gently. “But anyways, is that really how you feel, Jones?”

 

“Yes.” Jughead looked up the girl with a look of pleading, though he didn't even know he was making such a face.

 

“Jughead?” Betty looked deep into his eyes, seeing the vulnerability he was expressing. 

 

The two stayed silently staring at each other and, strangely, getting lost in each other's eyes. Betty’s feet shuffled while reaching her arm out and to Jughead, it looked like she was going to stroke his face. And for a second he really thought she was going to. The ring of the bell cut the moment short as both teens jumped at the sound.

 

Betty quickly stepped back and moved a piece of hair behind her ear, her eyes on the floor. “I'll see you around,” she murmured. And with that, Betty Cooper was out the door, leaving a blushing Jughead in the dust. 

 

“Go on a date already, sheesh,” Linda peeped in as she licked her finger and turned the page of her magazine.

 

-

 

School had ended three hours ago, allowing Jughead to take up his persona as Spider-Man. Currently, he was battling a horde of miniature evil robots. In other words, the threat level wasn't that high.

 

_ Was she really going to reach out and touch my cheek? Nah. She must've went to grab something behind me. But if that's true than she would've told me to move! Ugh!  _ Though it wasn't much of an interaction, Jughead and Betty’s first official encounter raked at the web slinger’s brain. Every time he tried to swat it away, every time he tried to distract himself (in this case, by attacking the robots), he couldn't for the life of him stop thinking about it.

 

This proved to be a defect in his performance as sometimes Jughead would slow his actions, his brain too invested at the moment.

 

Similarly, a robot went for a left hook, striking Spider-Man in the side. Another struck the hero smack dab in the face, while a third robot rammed into his ankle. 

 

The web slinger went down with a thud, his face in welting pain from the steel face of the robot. “Ah!” He hollered, the soreness from the strikes building up. 

 

The group of robots began to surround the injured teen, getting ready to take him down.

 

Spidey quickly shot a thick web in each of their faces and kicked them off with his well leg. “Pick on someone your own size!” With that, the wall crawler quickly trapped the robots down to the pavement by webbing their entire bodies to the road. He had won.

 

Watchers cheered and hooted as they watched their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man give a thumbs up towards a camera. Betty Cooper was among the crowd, a proud smile on her face. She carefully squeezed herself through the crowd, trying to get her quick interview in with the hero before the tv reporters swarmed him.

 

“Spider-Man!” Betty called, her camera bouncing around her neck as she hurried over.

 

“Cooper,” The web slinger called back, a smile appearing under his mask. “Daily interview?”

 

“Daily interview.”

 

“Plus picture?”

 

“You know it, you big shot.” Betty gave a grin as she whipped out her notebook and pen.

 

“I probably have five minutes before the news people bombard me with questions. Shoot.”

 

“How did you feel during your battle today?”

 

“Distracted.”

 

Betty raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

 

“Love life.”

 

“Ah. I've never heard that one before.” The blonde beauty quickly scribbled down notes. 

 

“Continue.”

 

“Do you think these robots will come back to get you?”

 

“If there’s more, probably.”

 

Betty wrote a note down. “What type of girls are you interested in?”

 

This time, Jughead raised an eyebrow under his mask. “Why do you ask?”

 

“Oh no reason!” Betty rushed, her cheeks going red. “Y-You don't have to answer that one. I don't know what I was thinking when I said that.” She cleared her throat and awkwardly held her things.

 

Jughead studied her face and actions carefully. Suddenly, it washed over him. She liked him. Well not Jughead, but Spider-Man. “I like girls who don't care about what they look like. And girls who are strong and independent, personality wise of course. I just don't like self centered girls, is basically what I'm saying.”

 

Betty hurriedly scrawled down what he said, feeling all the news reporters crowd around them trying to get to Spider-Man. “I should go!” She yelled over the crowd.

 

“Wait!” Spider-Man jumped over the crowd. “Stick around! We’re not done yet!”

 

The journalist flushed as she watch the web slinger. “Alright?”

 

After an agonizing ten minutes of interrogations, the news people slowly dispersed, leaving Betty and Spidey alone. 

 

“What else did you want to ask?” Truthfully, the throbbing from his face, side and ankle was almost unbearable. But Jughead planned on doing something so outrageous that he was worried it might not end in the way he’d hope.

 

“Uhm…how do you treat your injuries after battling with bad guys?”

 

“I…” he hesitated, “...treat them myself.”

 

“Oh.” This time, Betty  _ pretended _ to write.

 

“Anyhow,” Jughead took a breath. “Would you like to go out with me?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a long time! I had to finish up school PLUS I had major writer's block. But hopefully this makes up for the wait. As always, this was self edited so there probably are errors but I hope you enjoy!

Betty blushed. “G-Go out? With y-you?” she stuttered.

 

“I mean,” Jughead flushed under the mask. “You know, touring the city and what not.” He sighed in defeat. Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut?

 

“Oh. Yeah why not.” Betty sounded let down too. 

 

“Tomorrow at...6AM?”

 

The reporter raised her eyebrows. “Why so early?”

 

“Just trust me.” Since he already fibbed up, Jughead decided he’d at least give her something nice to see. Even if it wasn't his face.

 

“Okay. You'll be wearing the suit?”

 

“Yes, darling. Meet me near the high school.”

 

Betty’s cheeks went rosy red again at the nickname. “Okay,” she giggled.

 

Leaving it at that, the two parted ways, leaving a baffled Jughead and amazed Betty to dream about the morning to follow.

 

-

 

Jughead’s alarm sounded off at its usual time, 4AM. But it didn't wake him up. If anything, it just scared him.

 

He had been up all night. Jughead didn't even catch a wink of sleep. However, despite not being tired at the time, he was exhausted now. His eyes were red and hazy and his hair was a mess. 

 

Eventually, he got annoyed with the siren emitting from his alarm clock and slowly raised an arm. The teen then pounded his fist on the clock, accidentally breaking it. He let out a tired groan and felt the broken pieces of metal and wires under his hand. 

 

He didn't move his arm for a minute or two, which soon turned into ten minutes. Then half an hour. Then just about two hours. At this point, Jughead was fast asleep and willingly let go of his two hours in the morning for himself. He fell asleep just a few seconds after his knuckles scraped some glass from the clock. The raven haired boy only awoke when his phone buzzed against his still swollen side.

 

Jughead wrenched in pain as he struggled to open his eyes. He took a glance out his window and saw sunlight. He then bolted up in his bed, his injuries from the night before screaming in pain. “Crap!” He said aloud as he quickly got himself ready for the day. As he brushed his teeth, the clock read 5:55. Five minutes until his “date” with Betty.

 

The beanie wearing boy hurriedly rushed out of his room and snatched a piece of toast out of the toaster.

 

Jughead’s father, FP, groaned and held onto the counter. “Slow down, boy. God why are you in such a hurry?” His head seemed heavy on his shoulder.

 

“I’m gonna be late for school!” Jughead lied as he scarfed down the half charred toast. “Your migraine medicine is in cabinet—“

 

“Next to the fridge, yeah yeah I got it. Just go.”

 

Jughead sprinted out the door and towards the abandoned alleyway just outside the building.

He then quickly threw off his clothes and into his bag. “Crap, crap,” Jughead repeated to himself as he stowed his backpack away. The teen pulled his mask over his face, climbed onto the top of the building and swung across the city until he was a few blocks away from the high school. Hopefully Betty would still be there.

 

To his luck, Jughead found Betty sitting on the curb, her arms crossed against her chest. She didn’t seem angry, however. She looked anxious. 

 

“Hey!” Spider-Man yelled from the roof as he gradually slid down one of his webs and onto the sidewalk. He smiled under his mask as relief washed over Betty’s face. “Sorry I was late.”

 

“It’s fine. I thought you weren’t gonna show up to be honest.” she laughed. “But here you are.”

“Yeah, here I am.”

 

The blonde girl brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “So uh what are we gonna do again?”

 

“I was gonna take you around the city. You know, if you were up for it.”

 

Betty raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

 

Spider-Man just smiled under his mask. “Just come with me. And whenever you want out, just say so.” He held out his hand.

 

Betty took his hand, feeling skeptical at first. “No tricks, got it? I can tear you apart in the papers if I want or need to.”

 

“You have nothing to worry about. Now hold onto me.”

 

She did as she was instructed, a light blush growing on her face. Betty wrapped her arms carefully around Spider-Man’s torso and grinned. 

 

In the blink of an eye, the web slinger and the blonde teen were up in the air, swinging from building to building. Betty let out a scream once her foot was a a few feet off the ground but thankfully, the view she got distracted her from high how they were.

 

“This is beautiful,” Betty breathed as she took in her surroundings. 

 

“It is, isn’t it?” Spider-Man made sure to look at his date every once in a while to make sure she was okay. “It’s even better at night. Or just before the sun comes up.”

 

“I bet it is.” the blonde’s eyes twinkled in the sunlight. In fact, she looked so amazed and giddy that she resembled a kid in a candy store. Her joy also somehow transferred to Spider-Man, for he looked at the sky and buildings in front of him as if it was his first time as well. 

 

After a couple of blocks, the web slinger caught Betty watching him shoot webs out of his wrists. “Yes?”

 

Betty blinked and laughed lightly. “Oh sorry. I was just watching you.” her face went light pink. “Er I mean I was just watching you and admiring how smoothly you just swing from building to building.”

 

“Oh. Well it’s very easy when you practice.” Spider-Man casually landed on the top of the building of the Daily Bugle. “Though the formula for the actual webbing was a little tricky. I had to make it strong enough to hold my body weight and I also had to make it sticky enough to hold a person down but it couldn’t be too sticky to the point where it was non removable.” 

 

Betty just giggled. “Smart man. But do you realize where you landed us?”

 

“Yup,” the wall crawler assured as he looked down at the screen. Hal Cooper was currently spitting nonsense about who he called “The Spider-Menace.”

 

“This world is surely going downhill! Why do so many of you encourage the acts of the Spider-Menace?! Every time he allegedly saves the day, he leaves the city in ruins! Why, just recently, this so-called hero of yours left a gaping hole in the side of Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe! A national treasure of New York City!” Hal spat, his face slowly going red from screaming.

 

“What? You never did that,” Betty protested as she whipped her head towards Spider-Man.

 

“Exactly,” the wall crawler agreed as he sprayed a thick layer of webbing onto a large portion of the screen. “And that’s what you get you lying piece of shit.” The second he said that aloud, he slapped his hand over where his mouth was. He had suddenly forgot that he, Spider-Man, had just called Hal Cooper, his date’s father, a piece of shit. Oops.

 

“Hey I wouldn’t call him that,” Betty argued, a quirk in her eyebrow. “He may be a lying man but he’s still my dad. I still love him.” She paused, lost in thought. “I mean I don’t love him for lying. Especially about you.”

 

“I know, I know. I get it.” 

 

“Do you really?”

 

“Yes.”

 

After a moment, Betty just smiled. “Thanks for being so understanding. But I really should be heading to school. I’m already late and I don’t know what my dad would do if he found out I skipped school.” 

 

Spider-Man just nodded. “I get it. I should be heading to school too.” The second he said that, Jughead wished he had kept his trap shut. 

 

“You go to highschool? Hm okay. Now I have a somewhat idea of how old you are.” she noticed how silent the wall crawler was and just laughed. “Oh don’t worry. It’s not like I’m going to spread that around my school.”

 

“Good,” Spider-Man agreed, a serious tone taking his voice. He did not need everyone in his school knowing even something as little as that slip out.

 

“Can you take me down? So we can both get to school?” Betty prompted as she glanced at the time on her phone. 

 

“What? Oh yeah.” The web slinger swiftly wrapped his arm around the blonde’s torso as he gradually swung back to the school. 

 

“Sorry I’m rushing you. But I had fun.” Betty gave a smile that made Jughead blush. 

 

“So did I,” he replied, all confidence leaving his being. He felt like he was talking to her in the nurse’s office again. Spider-Man landed a block or two away from the school, trying not to attract too many people outside of the doors. 

 

Without any warning, the blonde closed her eyes and quickly pecked the hero’s cheek, her own cheeks going as red as Spider-Man’s suit. “See you around,” Betty peeped before she ran into the high school. 

 

Jughead watched her run until she entered the school, a boyish smile plastered on his face. “I did it,” He mumbled, his smile growing wider. “I did it!” he repeated as he victoriously lept into the air and flipped off the nearest building. When Jughead finally remembered that he was not alone, he discreetly made his way over to the alley where his bag was and changed back into his normal clothes. He then waited a good ten minutes before walking into school so that Betty didn’t have any suspicions. 

 

-

 

As Jughead quietly sat in his seat, he unintentionally made eye contact with the person he was just on a date with. Their eyes locked for a couple of awkward seconds before Jughead dropped his eyes and scribbled down some notes on the board.  _ “Please don’t tell me she knows,”  _ the beanie wearing boy prayed as he continued to complete his work. But his prayers were cut short once the bell sounded. 

 

Betty slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the classroom, her face expressionless. She had looked like she had not just gone on a date with a superhero. And she was clearly good at acting like it. 

 

Jughead soon followed suit, his bag on both his shoulders. He casually found his way to his locker and chucked his bag inside, grabbing his lunchbox instead. But as he made his way to the cafeteria, he realized something. There was a hoard of students surrounding something or someone, blocking the entrance. He scoffed and tried finding another way inside but was unsuccessful. But as he heard someone scream from the crowd, he tried to remain calm. 

 

“You went out with Spider-Man?!” A girl squealed, her phone clutched in her boney fingers. 

 

“He’s so cute!” said another.

 

“How did you get with him?!”

 

“Did you get to unmask him?!”

 

“Did you guys do it?!” 

 

Jughead’s face twitched. He could only imagine how Betty could be feeling right now. He so desperately wished he could help her but that’d raise some suspicion to some of the crowd. He knew it would. Instead he tried his best to blend in with the crowd and pretend he was obsessed with Betty’s “encounter.” Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

 

“What’s wrong, shithead? Are you jealous?” Reggie taunted as he and his crew circled Jughead like hawks. “Are you jealous of Spider-Man for taking away your “chances” of going out with a hot babe like Betty Cooper? You never had a chance!” 

 

This time, Jughead caught Betty looking at him. She had her sympathetic face on (as always) but this time, it looked like she actually felt his pain. The whole crowd watched in silence as everything unfolded. 

 

Jughead so wanted to prove Reggie’s ass wrong by revealing he was the hero in discussion. But he held his tongue and chose to roll with the punches, as usual. 

 

“Say something, Jonesy Boy!”

 

Except this time, the anger in his gut was gnawing away at him. He needed to do something. He couldn’t look weak forever. 

 

So, in a mix of blind fury and pulsing rage, Jughead balled his hand into a tight fist and slammed his knuckles straight into Reggie’s face. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M FINALLY POSTING AGAIN!! YAYYYYYY! But in all seriousness, I'm finally in the writing mood again! Pardon any plot holes or different writing vibe lol. I haven't touched this fic in a bit. As always, this was self-edited (*cough* not really cuz I just wanted to get it here *cough*) and I hope you enjoy!

Reggie coughed out some fresh blood and wiped his gushing nose. He stared at Jughead in utter shock before he growled and went to squeeze the wimp’s neck. “You’re gonna get it now!” 

 

“Stop it, both of you!” Betty cried as she pulled an adrenaline filled Jughead back and away from Reggie. “Reginald, you jerk, just lay off him already! I think I speak for everyone here when I say that though I don’t like choosing sides, you freaking deserved that!”

 

Jughead showed a small smirk and let out a chuckle.

 

“And as for you,” Betty scolded, which caught Jughead by surprise, “Violence is  _ never  _ the answer!” 

 

“I’ll take it from here, thank you Elizabeth,” Principal Weatherbee stated as he pushed his way through the now silent crowd of students. “Reggie, in my office. Jughead, go to the nurse.” He stole a glance at Betty. “Betty, escort Jughead. Now everyone, go back to class.” 

 

Jughead’s body moved with his deep breaths as Betty held his arm gently and brought him to the nurse. “What happened back there? I-I never expected you to snap like that,” Betty said softly once they were out of sight of Reggie. 

 

“I don’t know,” Jughead mumbled sheepishly. 

 

“You don’t know?”

 

“N-No.” And he was telling the truth. Jughead honestly didn’t know why he got so angry. Reggie had beat him up for three years now, so why was this time different?

 

Once they arrived at the nurse, Linda looked up and let out a sigh. “Good afternoon, Jughead.” 

 

“Afternoon, Linda.”

 

“Go sit on the cot and then I’ll take a look at you.” 

 

Betty sat on a nearby chair once Jughead laid down with difficulty. This caused Betty to cock an eyebrow, of course, since she was very observant. 

 

Linda walked over to the teens once Jughead was settled. She instructed him to roll over so she could see if Reggie took a shot at his back side. Jughead’s breathing started to pick up slightly as he slowly and painfully rolled over, his injured side being pressed against the stiff material of the cot. 

 

“He didn’t hit you in the side…” Betty observed.

 

“I-It was from another time,” Jughead lied.

 

Betty looked over his body and noticed a blueish-purpleish color poking out from the end of his pant leg. “He didn’t strike your ankle either…”

 

“Uhh I--”

 

“Not to mention the subtle but weird imprint on your face.”

 

Jughead was happy he was facing the wall so Betty nor Linda could see his face. “Um...I fell...on one of Jellybean’s toys. It left an imprint on my face so red, my face matched a tomato.”

 

“Mhm,” Betty hummed. 

 

“Anywho…” Linda peeped, “Lay on your back.” 

 

As the inspection went on, Linda and Betty both identified a dark black/blue/purple bruise along his side that was visible through his shirt. “Take your shirt off and ice that thing,” Linda said worriedly as she headed for the freezer. 

 

“I’m fine though, really.”

 

“Jughead,” Betty said with a strict tone.

 

Jughead sucked in a breath and pulled off his shirt slowly before he laid down on his non bruised side. 

 

Betty’s eye twitched slightly and her cheeks went bright red at the sight of the abs she didn’t know he possessed.  “Oh my God,” she mouthed to herself. She took out her mini notebook from her pocket and scribbled down Jughead’s current injuries and the fact that he had abs, intending to get to the bottom of what he was doing outside of school. In reality, the more she heard him talk, the more she realized she’d heard that voice somewhere…

 

Linda carefully placed an ice pack on Jughead’s side as Betty tapped her pen against her notepad, her brain attempting to put the puzzle pieces together.

 

“You know,” Jughead started off, “you don’t have to stay here with me.”

 

Betty’s cheeks went pink as different conclusions gathered up in her head. Once Jughead spoke up, though, she blinked and looked at him, completely dazed. “What’d you say?”

 

“You don’t have to be here.”

 

“I-I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

 

“Me? You wanna make sure the biggest wimp in school is okay?”

 

“You are  _ not  _ a wimp. Look at those abs! And those muscles, Jesus Christ!” Betty sucked in a bashful breath when she realized that she was fawning over Jughead’s physical appearance.

 

Jughead turned his head, a smirk crossing his lips when he caught Betty blush. “Muscles don’t mean anything.”

 

“W-Whatever you say. B-But you aren’t a wimp,” Betty stammered, attempting to compose herself.

 

“Alright,” Jughead agreed with a slight shrug.

 

-

 

Once Jughead decided he didn’t want to lay on the cot the whole rest of the period, he got dressed and headed towards Principal Weatherbee’s office with Betty by his side. 

 

“You know, you don’t have to be here either,” Jughead spoke when they neared the office. 

 

“I want to,” Betty replied. “I’ll wait out here.”

 

Jughead shrugged again and wondered why Betty was actually caring about him. He gave her a wobbly smile and entered the office wearily.

 

“Sit down, Fors--”

 

“Please sir, just call me Jughead. I-If you don’t mind.”

 

“Alright, Mr. Jones. Sit down.”

 

Jughead did as instructed.

 

“What prompted you to punch Reggie, might I ask?”

 

“I-I don’t know, sir. I really don’t.”

 

This caused Principal Weatherbee to squint. “Is that so? Well, whether you’re telling the truth or not, I’ve sentence Reggie to a three month detention sentence.”

 

“Woah, why so harsh?” Jughead hated the guy, but he felt three months was a bit much for this incident.

 

“It’s for all those other times he’s hurt you. Anyways, I’ve also made a call to your dad--”

 

“You called my  _ dad _ ?” 

 

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

 

Jughead’s breathing intensified the tiniest bit. “N-No sir.”

 

“Okay...well, I told him what happened and all he said was ‘okay.’”

 

“Really? That’s good,” Jughead murmured.

 

“Pardon?” 

 

“I said oh,” Jughead lied. In the past, FP had gotten mad at Jughead for involving himself in a fight, even if the fight wasn’t his fault. To be honest, he was shocked that his dad seemed like he didn’t care.

 

“But, Jughead, though I know that Reggie has bullied you for quite some time, punching him in the face was not the right move.”

 

“I get it,” Jughead snapped as he dropped his eyes. “What’s my punishment?”

 

“Detention. After school today.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“Reggie will be there. I want you to apologize to him.”

 

“What?! Mr. Weatherbee, that’s not fair--”

 

“Relax. I’ve instructed Reggie to do the same to you. I’ll be in the classroom of course so I will get you two to ‘forgive’ each other either way.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Now head to lunch. I’ll write you a pass since your lunch period is going to end in about five minutes.”

 

Jughead crumbled the pass into his pocket as he trekked out of the office. “I got detention,” he muttered.

 

“That sucks,” Betty answered as she followed Jughead to the cafeteria. “For how long?”

 

“Just later today. Also shouldn’t you be in class?”

 

“Nah. I’ll just get a pass or something.”

 

Jughead and Betty both bought lunch and sat at an empty table. Jughead immediately dug into his burger as the curious blonde eyed him weirdly. “Hungry, are you?”

 

Jughead nodded. “Aren’t you?”

 

“Not really,” Betty said as she picked at her artificial looking salad. 

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“I don’t know. I’m just not hungry a lot.”

 

Jughead just shrugged as he finished his lunch with ease. “Hey why are you being so nice to me? Before that fight, you never even talked to me. Well, besides that one time at the nurse.”

 

This time, Betty shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said again. “You seem pretty nice and interesting.”

 

“Are you sure it’s not because of my body or that I have no friends since Archie moved to Cali?”

 

“No. I didn’t even know about your body until today. And I did notice that you seemed...um... lonelier ever since Archie left. But that’s not the point.”

 

Jughead continued to question Betty, not convinced that she really did want to be friends with him. He always messed up the good things that happened in his life and he just couldn’t help unintentionally ruining things.

 

Eventually, lunch ended and the pair parted ways. 

 

“What the hell just happened?” Jughead said to himself as he watched Betty head to class.

 

-

 

When Jughead walked into the detention room, he was surprised to see the person he’d never thought he’d see there. “Betty?”

 

“Hi Jughead,” she spoke.

 

“Why’re you here?”

 

“I didn’t get a pass.” She had small tear stains near her eyes.

 

“Were you crying?” Jughead questioned a little too blunty.

 

“Yeah. I’ve never gotten detention before! This is gonna ruin my permanent record!” Betty bawled.

 

Jughead took the seat next to her and awkwardly put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey it’s okay. D-Detention isn’t that big a deal.”

 

“It is to  _ me! _ ”

 

Jughead put his hands up defensively. “A-Alright, calm down.”

 

Betty put her head in her hands and sniffled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

 

“It’s okay,” Jughead said softly.

 

“Jughead,” Principal Weatherbee whispered as he eyed Reggie.

 

Jughead sighed and reluctantly stood up. “I’ll be right back.” He trudged to Reggie, who glared up at him, and stated, “I’m sorry for punching you in the face. Truce?” He stuck his hand out.

 

“Whatever,” Reggie grumbled.

 

“Reginald,” Principal Weatherbee growled.

 

“Fine, fine. ‘Truce,’” Reggie replied as he shook the raven haired teen’s hand, his eyes clearing showing that their truce wasn’t actually going to be real.

 

Jughead groaned and made his way back to Betty. 

 

“What was that?” Betty asked quietly so Weatherbee wouldn’t hear. 

 

“A force apology.”

 

“No duh. You shouldn’t have to apologize to that meathead.”

 

“Guess who made me.”

 

“Weatherbee,” Betty concluded with a glance towards the man in discussion. “That’s not fair.”

 

“Mhm. But it doesn’t matter, I did it already.” Just as the last word left his mouth, Jughead’s eyes widened suddenly, his spider senses kicking in.  _ “Aw crap,”  _ he thought. “Mr. Weatherbee, can I use the bathroom?”

 

“Make it quick.”

 

Jughead looked at Betty with still wide eyes. He blinked quickly and grabbed his whole bag before sprinting into the locker room and changing into his suit. He poked his head out of the door once he was in costume, making sure no one in the halls would see him. When the coast was clear, he lifted the nearest set of lockers and chucked his backpack under them before jumping out the window right above him and swinging to the incoming danger.

 

-

 

As Spider-Man watched the robbers he took down get taken to the slammer, he checked his watch, trying to see if he had enough time to make it back to detention. He sighed when he realized detention was done over an hour ago. 

 

“What’s with the long sigh?” Betty asked as she approached the hero with her camera around her neck.

 

“Huh? Why’re you her--I mean! Oh hey you!” Jughead spoke, forgetting he was Spider-Man right now. 

 

“Hey? Why’re you acting so strange? Did those robbers knock you in the head or something? Because they didn’t seem so strong to me.”

 

“No, uh, I was just thinking about something. A-Anyways, let’s do that daily interview.”

 

“What’s on your mind?”

 

“That’s not a question in your notepad,” Spider-Man teased.

 

“I know. But what’s going on? Are you okay? You seemed...more nervous around me.”

 

“I do?”

 

“Mhm. W-Was is because of our date? If it is, I-I’m real sorry about that. We can pretend that didn’t happen…”

 

“No, no! That’s not it at all,” Spider-Man started with a chuckle. “I really enjoyed our date. In fact, I enjoy all our time together.”

 

“You do?” Betty asked with rosy cheeks.

 

“Yeah,” Spider-Man confirmed as he shakily went to cup her cheek. 

 

Betty was astonished by the gesture but eventually leaned her head into his touch. “T-That’s nice to hear,” she stuttered and cleared her throat as she lifted her notepad up again. “I-I should actually interview you now.”

 

“Right,” Spider-Man mumbled as he gently pulled his hand away.

  
_ “Dammit,”  _ both teens thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at Ionlyhave12bulletssoshare. I'd love to hear your feedback :)


End file.
